I found this in some of my old files – Ham Radio related but also a life thought….<\/p>\n
” The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band<\/strong> on my ham “Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand “Now, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part. “Every Saturday since then, I have taken one<\/strong> marble out and thrown it “Now let me tell you one<\/strong> last thing<\/strong> before I sign-off with you and
Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to
rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work.
Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning<\/strong> are most
enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement ham-shack with a
steaming cup of coffee in one<\/strong> hand<\/strong> and the morning<\/strong> paper in the other.
What began as a typical Saturday morning<\/strong> turned into one<\/strong> of those
lessons that life seems to hand<\/strong> you from time<\/strong> to time<\/strong>.
Let me tell you about it.<\/p>\n
radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning<\/strong> swap net.
Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous
signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a
thousand marbles.” I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.<\/p>\n
I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from
home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make<\/strong> ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital he continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.”<\/p>\n
marbles.” “You see, I sat down one<\/strong> day and did a little arithmetic.
The average person lives about Seventy-five years.
I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live
about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is
the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire
lifetime.”<\/p>\n
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in
any detail” he went on, “and by that time<\/strong> I had lived through over
twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.
I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about
a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store<\/strong> and bought every single marble they had.
I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles.
I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container
right here in the sack next to my gear.”<\/p>\n
away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focus more on the
Really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time<\/strong> here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”<\/p>\n
take my lovely wife out for breakfast.
This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container.
I figure that if I make<\/strong> it until next Saturday then I have been given
a little extra time<\/strong>. And the one<\/strong> thing<\/strong> we can all use is a little more time.”
“It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time<\/strong> with your
family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band<\/strong>.
This is 75 Year Old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going<\/strong> QRT, good morning!”<\/p>\n